Political Quotes

“I want to thank the chairman. I also want to let the chairman of the full committee and the ranking member know that I appreciate their support for the Gulf War veterans in the previous amendment. I also submit that this particular amendment addresses another area that is receiving attention in the media but needs some money behind it to make sure that it receives attention from the Department. This amendment to the Defense appropriations bill will increase funding for suicide prevention among our soldiers by $6 million. Now I happen to know there are members on this committee who are very concerned about the increased level of suicide among those who serve. And it's a bipartisan concern. We know the heartbreak that's out there when someone who serves this country finds that the conditions that they're in either during service or just afterwards are so horrendous that they take their own life. Far too many troops coming home from war have sustained numerous mental insults, including post-traumatic stress order and traumatic brain injury. The mental anguish for them is so unbearable that they're stripped of hope and they just feel that they have to take their own lives. And sometimes they take not only their lives but the lives of loved ones as well.…”